Two colleagues make an impressive trip to Kiev

Last Tuesday, the two departed for the Ukrainian capital, and by Saturday, they were back in Friesland. The reason for the visit? To see how they can help after the breach of the Kakhovka Dam. We regularly assist in major floods. For instance, the red water pumps were in England in 2014 and in Limburg in 2017 after the floods there.

No flood relief

"We expected to have to provide flood relief," Herman says Monday morning over coffee. "But when we got there, it turned out the water supply was a much bigger problem. In three weeks, a million people will have no drinking water."

Shooting Russians and landmines

And that makes the task more complex. The company has never provided people with water before. "We are now on the other side," says Herman. "Normally, there is too much water that needs to be removed, now there is too little." Almer: "There are many aspects to this problem. The politics, the war situation. There are shooting Russians and landmines in the area. These are all things we have to take into account for the first time."

And there is a time pressure. According to the United Nations, as a result of the dam breach, about seven hundred thousand people no longer have access to clean drinking water, and that number increases from seven hundred thousand to a million in three weeks.

We want it and we can do it!

The assignment is not yet concrete. Van Heck has not yet been asked to get involved. Someone needs to press the button in the coming days. Herman: "That could be Ukraine, the United Nations, or our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But with this working visit, we want to show that we are motivated and that we can do this. I expect us to start working there. We are secretly already busy in the workshop."